Afenos and Rain

Demons were the ones who controlled dark magic. Like in any other fantasy setting, humans deemed the demonic kinds as heralds of horrible omens. Some players said that the demonic power could wipe out the entire village with a skill. Others narrated that the demonic pets alone could wipe out an army of human soldiers!

All that information came from a validated source on the internet. A roddot sent it to the community, which was the talk of the town! I had seen none like that throughout my experience in the game. I only heard them chatting in the community and gossiping in the classroom.

Well, I did not care about them since this place was a game, not until now.

The farmer and I trekked the road and found a peaceful-looking village. Dozens of children roamed around while their parents washed their clothes in the nearby lake. A hundred shacks welcomed my eyes as I compared them to the buildings in the city from where I had lived.

It was a picturesque scene that the angels had carved. The environment was like the game developers made for the game. But this time, it was real. The wind whistled in the wind and kissed my skin, telling me it was already morning. My nose sniffed at the freshwater breeze that tingles inside of me. As I gazed above, the morning sun greeted my eyes.

We stumbled upon a shabby hut made of wooden planks and blocks of cement. Although the place looked tattered, it was still a home for a family to live in. This place was even bigger than my room, if I could recall my bedroom correctly. But I may be wrong about that, since this building had a unique design among the ones beside it.

This village became dear to me. I did not know why, but that was the sensation creeping up inside my brain.

The farmer motioned me to follow his back. I tagged along, since I had nowhere else to go but onward. The two of us continued where we had left from the conversation. I could not wait any further. So I was the first person to open my mouth.

"Demons, you say?" I asked the farmer. My voice croaked a little as I told him my question.

"Aye. For thousands of years, those demons did not attack the kingdom. Considering the treaty that the previous king made, those demons never dared to lay their hands on the people. Now that the treaty has ended, an all-out war is going to start," the old man expressed, as he opened the wooden door. "I have heard from the Camelot Empire that the demons have pulled the legendary sword. A holy one that only the hero could pull. That event wreaked havoc across the church. Since the demon pulled the holy sword, the priests did not know what to tell the people about it."

The farmer punched the wall, creating crevices at the panel. A blaring thump resounded inside the room, with a drop of liquid coming afterwards. His hand excreted crimson fluid, which also dripped onto the ground. A puddle of blood formed beside my feet, but I paid no concern for that. There was a metallic lingered inside my nose, which came from below me.

"Those worthless bastards took away my wife. She was as sweet as an angel sent by the goddess of Freya to me. But the demons had no mercy. My wife was pregnant with my youngest child. If only I were powerful enough, then maybe…" He growled, while continuing to curl his fist into a ball.

The farmer's eyes narrowed down on the empty chair before him. His look pierced through the bench as the old man leaked all his killing intent around him. If a glare would be enough to kill anyone, the man could do it a million times.

I did not know what to do. My arms tried to reach out for the old man, but I couldn't. There was no confidence inside of my heart that told me to comfort the farmer. It was as if I did not know how to empathise with a person who lost someone dear to them.

I had lived in a world where this game took over our emotions. I was a nobody who had no relationships with anyone except for myself.

"I'm sorry… to hear that." My voice leaked out, hoping that would calm the farmer down.

The man shook his head and let out a wry smile. "It's alright, young lad. It's not your fault that my wife died, so no need to be sorry for my loss. I should be the one who needs to apologise, since I kept you far too long inside this place."

"No, no, no! Don't be!" I waved my hands, hoping to tell the farmer that everything was okay.

"You're a good man, chap. You're a good man… Thank you for listening to my story. I always wanted for a youngster like you to listen to my tale. "

After our exchange, the room fell silent. Nobody wanted to continue our talk, given the hefty atmosphere. However, it was not an awkward occurrence. This silence was the saving grace that the man needed to himself.

It was what I believed. But there was one thing that bothered me.

The game developers programmed these villagers with a set of scripts that they needed to follow. However, the emotions expressed by the old man felt more real than someone following the lines inside the game.

'A non-player character made by a computer can feel?' I thought, and couldn't brush that idea aside.

I never had a farmer weep before from his deceased wife killed by the demons. All the storyline gave to players like me was the main plot, which everyone needed to achieve. That was the path of a hero, which everyone swallowed.

A sudden knock on the door jolted me awake. Even the teary farmer became alerted and looked at the front door. But none of us armed ourselves as we trod to the gate.

"We're hoooome! Eh!? Why are you here?! Why is the stupid guy is here?! Let's get out of here, Rain, before that guy spreads his ugliness to our faces!"

"How many times do I have to tell you nobody has an ugly face except for monsters and your mouth, Afenos! And quit saying ugly to this poor-looking man!" The girl turned to me and bowed her head. "On behalf of my stupid brother, please forgive him, okay?"

I gave a wary nod and scratched my chin. "Is that your…?"

"Children? Of course, not! Why would I have noisy children like them! They're adopted!" the farmer retorted, and let out a grin.

"DAAAD!!!" the two kids growled at the farmer in unison.

The farmer laughed at the expression of his children. His emotionless face from before turned into something beautiful known to humankind. Everything about the farmer became soft as a cloud, drifting in the skies.

The three of them tackled each other and messed around on the ground. This family was like primates in the wild, snatching the single banana that fell from a tree. But that banana turned into words that would become dark if seen on the other side. Dark humour, if other people preferred that more.

"Just kidding! Of course, you're my sweet, sweet angels! Mwahaha!" The farmer announced, and drilled his hand over to the boy's head.

I cleared my throat and let the three people know my presence. I was still here inside their house, and I did not want to turn out rudely to their eyes. However, there were far more important things that I must do rather than idling around.

"I'm sorry to run down on your parade, but where is the adventurer's guild?" I asked.

If there were a place to get all the information I needed, it would be that building. In every village, there was a structure called "The Adventurer's Guild". It was the same establishment that catered to every adventurer, mercenary, and player. It was a haven for all of us to communicate with each other. That infrastructure also stored the bulletin board to send and accept quests of the game.

Now that the Magique became the actual world I lived in, checking the guild would be my utmost priority.

"You're already on the right track, lad," the farmer replied. "This place is the adventurer's guild. I just made it my house, since my home got burned by the demon from the previous war."

I couldn't help but stare at the walls enclosing me. The adventurer guild that I knew was more extravagant than this shabby place. This building looked more like a motel than a property for adventurers like me! It had beautiful people always ready to greet us at the desk.

"Where are all those guild staffs? The bulletin board? The mercenaries? And why can't I see any adventurers or anyone inside this place?" I asked.

"They're all long gone."